The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-06/08/2017
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EDITORIAL: Desarrolle a la gente
by Luis R. López
Date: June 08, 2017 - Thursday
NOTA DEL EDITOR: La columna First-Person (De primera mano) es parte de la edición de hoy de BP en español. Para ver historias adicionales, vaya a http://www.bpnews.net/espanol.
SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. (BP) -- La iglesia está llamada a hacer discípulos y desarrollar líderes multiplicadores en medio de un mundo cambiante. No importa la frecuencia con que la gente se mude o los cambios que experimente la sociedad, la misión sigue siendo la misma. Desarrollar a las personas desafiándoles a pasar al próximo nivel es fundamental para evitar el conformismo y cumplir con nuestra tarea. Crecer es el antídoto a la paralización y al estancamiento espiritual. El desarrollo de los creyentes está en el corazón de Dios y por consiguiente debe tener prioridad para el liderazgo.
Estudios sobre la iglesia hispana en los Estados Unidos indican que aproximadamente un 20 porciento de la membresía de una iglesia cambia cada cinco años. Las familias se mudan por diferentes motivos. Otros cambian de iglesia o simplemente se alejan. La necesidad de tener establecido y en funcionamiento un proceso para ayudar a las personas a crecer espiritualmente de forma intencional es hoy más apremiante que nunca. De lo contrario, corremos el riesgo de conformarnos al status quo. No hacerlo es colocar a la congregación en una situación volátil que produce detenimiento y parálisis espiritual. Cada cierto tiempo debemos reconsiderar lo que estamos realmente ofreciendo a las personas para crecer cuando llegan a la congregación. He aquí cuatro sugerencias al hacerlo:
1) Capacite regularmente. Este proceso debe ser continuo. No podemos dejar a la iglesia un período extendido sin ofrecer oportunidades para entrenar a las personas y desarrollar el ministerio que Dios les ha llamado a realizar. Comience con ayudarles a descubrir sus dones espirituales y conéctelos con las necesidades dentro y fuera de la congregación. Por un lado, la gente necesita aprender a hacer mejor y con mayor eficacia lo que está haciendo actualmente. Al mismo tiempo, se necesita explorar otras áreas de ministerio a las cuáles Dios puede estar llamándoles. Considere métodos formales e informarles para llevar a cabo esta labor. Ya sea a través de grupos pequeños, uno a uno o enviándolos a conferencias especiales dentro y fuera de la iglesia, el liderazgo pastoral debe insistir en entrenar continuamente a la gente para los actuales y futuros ministerios de la iglesia. Refuerce aquellas áreas de la iglesia en donde las necesidades de entrenamiento son más críticas y evidentes. Pero muévase hacia delante. Cultive y fomente una visión de todo lo que Dios quiere hacer con la iglesia. Añada a este proceso necesidades de futuros ministerios. Durante este tiempo, ore por las personas. Sea sensible a la voz de Dios en cuanto a lo que El le indique. Desafíe y capacite con intencionalidad. Entrene, entrene y entrene.
2) Desarrolle líderes fuertes. Muchas congregaciones nunca crecerán más de lo que pueden porque el pastor piensa que él tiene que hacerlo todo. Algunos pastores se sienten amenazados por otras personas que son muy creativos, preguntan por qué se hace esto así y cuestionan la manera en que a veces hacemos las cosas. Otros temen que algunos no hagan las cosas tan bien como deben hacerse. Entonces, las hacen ellos mismos. Los pastores no somos los únicos llamados a desarrollar gente. Pero debe comenzar con nosotros. No podemos conformarnos con la excusa de que "lo hago porque sé exactamente lo que hay que hacer" o porque "lo puedo hacer más rápido que otros." Necesitamos hacernos a un lado y fomentar un clima en donde las personas deseen crecer, intentar cosas nuevas para Dios y poner en práctica los dones que Dios les ha dado. Es tiempo de desarrollar un ejército más grande de voluntarios que a donde quiera que vaya ayude a expandir la misión del reino de Dios. Las llaves de las puertas a la expansión de nuestras congregaciones están dentro de nuestros propios templos. Utilícelas.
3) No subestime la importancia de cada uno. Cada creyente ha sido capacitado por Dios para llevar a cabo algún tipo de ministerio. Todos tenemos por lo menos un don espiritual y hay que ponerlo en práctica. De lo contrario corremos el peligro de enterrarlo y sufrir las consecuencias. Somos miembros interdependientes. Nos necesitamos unos a otros. El cuerpo necesita a todos sus miembros. Ningún cristiano ha sido colocado en el cuerpo de Cristo para no hacer nada. Necesitamos retar a nuestras congregaciones a involucrarnos más para poder desarrollarlas. Este llamado no solo debe ser para servir dentro del templo pero también afuera en la comunidad. Parte de la razón por la que algunas iglesias están estancadas es porque no están conectándose e involucrándose intencionalmente en su comunidad. Necesitamos a más líderes tocando las puertas de las escuelas, los hospitales, las casas de las viudas y las cárceles en nuestras ciudades. Solo así podemos ser sal y luz. A Dios le importa cada creyente. Cada miembro es importante para él. Su corazón late fuertemente por cada uno.
4) Sea un estudiante. A fin de desarrollar a las personas, estúdielas. Hable con ellas. Conozca sus pensamientos y luchas. Considere y valore dónde se encuentran en su caminar con Cristo. Examine las situaciones en que se desenvuelven día a día y sus implicaciones. Deje a otros hablarle a usted. Escuche. Evalúe cuidadosamente los resultados que se obtienen mientras capacita. Pregúntele a los miembros cómo mejorar y qué posibles oportunidades de servicio podemos desarrollar para alcanzar a la comunidad. Haga ajustes y siga adelante. Evite la actitud de ser un "llanero solitario". Aprenda a asociarse con otros. Identifique las ventanas de oportunidad que no debe dejar pasar. Es decir, saque provecho a las coyunturas circunstanciales que Dios pone a su alrededor para impactar la vida de las personas por la eternidad.
En conclusión, inviértase en otros. Prepare a aquellos que harán el trabajo que hoy usted está haciendo. Multiplíquese. Comience orando y rete a los creyentes. Capacítelos a tiempo y fuera de tiempo. Finalmente, entréguele a Dios los resultados. Él le recompensará en el futuro como sólo él sabe hacerlo.
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SBC DIGEST: Tenn. missions gets $1.575M endowment; SBTS inaugurates 'Giving Days'; university acquires Preaching magazine
by Baptist and Reflector, SBC Seminary, Baptist college & BP Staff
Date: June 08, 2017 - Thursday
Tenn. missions offering gets $1.75M endowment
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (BP) -- The Tennessee Baptist Mission Board has received an anonymous gift of $1,575,000 to endow the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions.
The endowment will generate an estimated $50,000 or more for GOTM outreach each year, mission board members were informed during their April 25 meeting.
Randy C. Davis, the board's president and executive director, said the endowment gift to the state missions offering is "a strong indication that Tennessee Baptists are hearing clearly that any way you slice it Tennessee is a missions field [and] are willing to do whatever it takes to reach the spiritually lost in our own home state with the Gospel of Christ."
Through the GOTM endowment fund, Davis said others can "contribute directly to the fund as the Lord leads. This ensures that generations to come will hear the Gospel and that people will be leaving a legacy of supporting compassion ministries, church planting and revitalization, children's camps, collegiate ministry, leader development and so much more."
Davis, in a May 3 column in the Baptist and Reflector state newsjournal, noted that the GOTM has grown more than 15 percent in the past three years.
"A tremendous 'Thank you' goes out to this generous Tennessee Baptist" who endowed the fund, Davis wrote, adding, "A huge thanks also goes to every Tennessee Baptist who has generously given through GOTM, even if it is 'a widow's mite.' Generosity is not measured by dollar amounts; it is measured by an attitude of the heart."
"Here is the beauty of working together," Davis wrote. "Not everybody can give million-dollar gifts -- few people can -- but we can all give according to the Lord's leading, regardless of amount."
The Tennessee convention's Church Support Center opened at its new location in Franklin, south of Nashville, on May 23. The convention rented office space for three years after selling its former 88,000-square-foot building, which opened in Brentwood in 1969. The new 32,533-square-foot debt-free facility is on a 2.3-acre site in a mixed-use development adjacent to Interstate 65.
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SBTS 'Giving Days' raise $300K for student tuition
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- Social media testimonials and community service sparked the first-ever "Giving Days" at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, raising more than $300,000 to offset student tuition.
The four-day initiative gave students, alumni, donors and faculty opportunities to share their seminary experiences, provide financial support and serve in Louisville-area communities.
Students, faculty and alumni shared their stories through social media for Tell Day on April 20. Several notable figures in Southern Baptist life recorded testimonies during Tell Day, including Mark Dever, Kevin Ezell, Eric Geiger and Southern Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr.
"I am thankful that there is an institution that is so committed to God's Word and its effect on us and in God's church," said Dever, pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. "There are few places in the world that could have the resources together that have been assembled at Southern."
During Give Day on April 21, donors began contributing financially to the seminary. With more than $75,000 pledged in advance as matching donations, the institutional advancement office reported after the Giving Days that more than $300,000 had been raised through the campaign.
On Saturday, April 22, more than 400 volunteers from the SBTS community helped with service projects at several locations such as the Louisville Rescue Mission.
During Preach the Word on Sunday, 19 SBTS students filled pulpits at churches in the Kentucky Baptist Convention, while other students shared testimonies in churches in Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee thanking them for their support of Southern Baptists' Cooperative Program missions and ministries.
Craig Parker, now serving as the seminary's senior vice president of institutional administration, noted, "The entire Southern family quickly grasped the spirit of the event, and each group participated enthusiastically. Significant victories were achieved on each of the four days of Giving Days."
More information about Giving Days is available at http://www.sbts.edu/givingdays.
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Anderson Univ. acquires Preaching, Youthworker magazines
ANDERSON, S.C. (BP) -- Anderson University has acquired Preaching and Youthworker quarterly magazines from previous owner Salem Media Group.
In addition to the two long-established magazines, the South Carolina university also will create new websites related to the publications. Salem Media Group will continue to operate the web domains previously linked to Preaching and Youthworker but with no connection to the print publications.
Anderson President Evans Whitaker said the university is "delighted to have this opportunity to extend [its] service to the church through providing these vital resources for pastors, youth ministers and church leaders."
Michael Duduit, founder and editor of Preaching since 1985, will continue his role as executive editor of that publication. Duduit has served as dean of Anderson's College of Christian Studies and Clamp Divinity School since 2008. He also directs the National Conference on Preaching, an annual event jointly sponsored by the Clamp Divinity School and Preaching magazine.
Clayton King, president of Clayton King Ministries and current interim senior pastor of NewSpring Church in Anderson, will become the new executive editor of Youthworker. King has extensive experience as a youth evangelist and conference speaker, and his Crossroads Summer Camps draw more than 5,000 young people each summer to Anderson's campus, which also houses King's ministry organization.
The Fall issue of each publication will be the first published by the university.
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FIRST-PERSON: Contagious missions
by Chad Keck
Date: June 08, 2017 - Thursday
KETTERING, Ohio (BP) -- One of my first memories of missions was when I was only 3 and my dad went with a short-term mission team to Guatemala in March 1978 following a massive earthquake there.
My dad was part of our church’s second team who went to help Guatemalans after that tragedy. The first team worked alongside our Foreign Mission Board (now the IMB) missionaries to rebuild Damascus Baptist Church in Guatemala City. The second team went to the village of Santo Domingo Xenaco outside Guatemala City to help those who lost family members and homes in the earthquake. Following a hard day of construction, the team would gather for evening worship when they would share the Gospel with locals.
Obviously, being 3 years of age, I do not remember much about my dad being gone except what happened to him upon his return and how it impacted our family and my life.
My dad became very sick not long after coming back, and we soon discovered that he had contracted an infectious form of Hepatitis A from the drinking water in Guatemala.
Even as a young child I remember being extremely concerned over his health. It was scary to have your father home from a long trip and him not to be able to get out of bed, or for you not be able to spend time around him.
As I reflect back on this years later, I am struck by the fact that I never heard my father complain about getting sick nor have I ever heard him talk poorly about his mission trip experience. Perhaps the most amazing thing is that it never slowed him down from taking more trips. He is now 71 and still actively engaged in international mission trips every year.
Not only did his active participation in missions make a lasting impression on me, but the commitment he and my mother had to financially support missions did as well. I remember them giving joyfully and talking often about the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for overseas missions and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for home missions. I remember them sharing stories about missionaries they had met while serving and why giving sacrificially was so important to them.
As they would share these stories, my mind would often drift back to my father’s illness. I would quietly wonder why someone would give a week of vacation, get extremely sick and yet still be passionate about sacrificially giving through these missions offerings as well as the Cooperative Program that also supports Southern Baptist national and international missions.
It would not be until I stepped off a plane in Namibia, Africa, as a 21-year-old on my first international mission trip that I would understand what my dad knew about the joy of living and giving to the Great Commission in 1978.
The joy that I discovered in Namibia was the that my parents had modeled for me throughout their lives through their faithful and consistent giving to their local church. Each Sunday, a portion of their giving would go to fund missions in their state and around the world through the Cooperative Program.
Now that I am a pastor and a dad, I am trying to model this same faithfulness.
I want my kids and my church to see me going into the world, loving others and sharing the Gospel. I want my kids and church to see me sacrifice my time, talent and treasure for the cause of Christ. I want them to know there is something more important than safety, than health, than wealth and the American dream.
I want them to see that we can accomplish more for the Kingdom together as Southern Baptists than we can alone, and that is why I believe the Cooperative Program is the best way we have to accomplish this task.
It has been said that more is caught than taught, and while I’m not promoting anyone catching an infectious disease, I am suggesting that we as parents and pastors can model what it means to cooperate for the sake of the cause.
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'It has eased my pain' widow says of Mission:Dignity
by Judy A. Bates
Date: June 08, 2017 - Thursday
EDITOR'S NOTE: Mission:Dignity Sunday is June 25.
DALLAS (BP) -- Doris Jackson's hands moved quickly over the piano keys as she played the traditional version of Amazing Grace. As she wrapped up the song, Doris glanced over her shoulder with a mischievous grin to ask if we wanted to hear her "version." A quick nod of our heads meant we were soon listening to a jazzy variation of the classic hymn.
Born in the parsonage provided by the church her daddy pastored, Doris said, "God has been a part of our lives, all of our lives."
Growing up in west Texas, young Doris spent time in the cotton fields. She did well in school, and when she graduated, the school asked Doris to come back and help with her younger classmates.
Ministry was a common thread throughout her life -- her father and grandfather were both ministers as were several extended family members. So it felt right to marry a man with his own long family heritage of ministry.
When William Jackson Jr. saw Doris, he knew he had to meet her. He paid a kid 10 cents to carry a note asking her for their first date. That was the beginning of a life-long love story. Doris and William married in 1961.
The call to become a pastor came 10 years later, and he preached his first sermon in 1972 in Anson, Texas.
Like many preachers in those days, William's pay was pretty small. To help make ends meet, he started his own auto body shop business. He was a hardworking man who believed in education and civic responsibility, and having two jobs didn't keep him from civic activities in the community.
Through the years, William served on the local school board and in various other civic organizations. He was one of the founding members of the local Meals on Wheels, for which they honored him in 2014. And he served as a volunteer fireman and policeman.
It was his ministry that had the biggest impact on the community, though. William felt that the youth who came through the church's doors should not go away without being fed both physically and spiritually. For him, these were closely related in reaching their hearts for God. William had a heartbeat for everyone in their community, Doris noted. "He was a teaching pastor who couldn't tell black or white. He loved all people."
William also mentored and encouraged the local youth, spending time at baseball games and other recreational activities. He preached God's Word and encouraged hard work and education to them -- believing those to be the keys to progress.
Doris said William insisted their own five children all attend college. To demonstrate that education was important at any age, William returned to school and earned a bachelor's in theology at 59, then finished his master's in theology two years later.
Doris also pursued education. Feeling a call to care for God's people, she earned a degree in nursing and worked in the local nursing home for many years. She now volunteers there since her retirement in 2006. Many of the residents call her to walk alongside them through doctors' appointments and therapy sessions.
After 42 years in the ministry, 35 years of which were spent at Greater Zion Baptist Church in Sweetwater, Texas, William died following a valiant battle with cancer. Doris soldiered on after his loss, but found herself unable to keep up with the financial pressures and reduced income.
Explaining that her financial situation had her against the wall, Doris saw hope when the application from Mission:Dignity arrived. She said, "There have been times I would not have made it without you, but God's loving heart and tender hands led you my way."
"Mission:Dignity means life," she said. "It has eased my pain and filled in spiritually, physically and financially."
Mission:Dignity Sunday is June 25. It's a day to remember and honor retired ministers, workers and their widows living on low retirement incomes. It's also a time to give generously to help the nearly 1,800 individuals and couples assisted by the ministry. About $7 million is distributed annually with most of the funding coming from the direct gifts of individuals, Sunday school classes and churches. One hundred percent of gifts provide well-deserved monthly grants with nothing used for operating expenses.
GuideStone has free bulletin inserts, promotional posters and a DVD with several brief testimonies of people assisted by Mission:Dignity. The materials are undated and can be used anytime. Order online and find additional resources at MDSunday.org. If you need help or would like to donate, visit MissionDignity.org.
As for the piano, Doris laughed and said her father traded two pigs for it when she was a child. All of her siblings learned to play and she kept on doing so at the churches where she and William served. Today, she shares her musical talent at the nursing home where she volunteers and it's one more thread tying her to a life of ministry.
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ACP: Churches up in 2016; baptisms, membership decline
by Carol Pipes
Date: June 08, 2017 - Thursday
NASHVILLE (BP) -- Southern Baptists experienced growth in the number of churches that cooperate with the SBC in 2016, according to the latest Annual Church Profile report (ACP).
However, other key measures declined in 2016, including membership, baptisms, average worship attendance and total giving, according to the ACP compiled by LifeWay Christian Resources in cooperation with Baptist state conventions.
The number of churches cooperating with the Southern Baptist Convention grew by 479 to 47,272, a 1 percent increase over 2015. The number of Southern Baptist churches has increased the last 18 years. Southern Baptist churches also reported 4,492 church-type missions last year.
Although the number of cooperating Southern Baptist congregations grew, reported membership of those churches declined by 77,786, down 0.51 percent to 15.2 million members. Average weekly worship attendance declined 6.75 percent to 5.2 million worshippers.
Southern Baptist churches baptized 280,773 people in 2016, a 4.89 percent decline from the 295,212 reported in 2015. The ratio of baptisms to total members was one baptism for every 54 members.
"We would be remiss in not giving thanks for every baptism and every new follower of Christ," said LifeWay President and CEO Thom S. Rainer.
Southern Baptists have seen a decline in the number of baptisms for several years, he said. "It's clear that evangelism and discipleship are waning. I don't believe it is due to the lack of opportunities, though. Instead, there is a lack of engagement."
Rainer said while most churchgoers believe it's their personal responsibility to share their faith, most never do.
"We should follow Christ's example and pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers," Rainer said. "Let us pray that God will send out the workers in our pews to engage those who don't yet know Him."
Rainer said he is thankful for SBC President Steve Gaines' emphasis on prayer for spiritual awakening at this year's annual meeting.
Frank S. Page, SBC Executive Committee president and CEO, noted "virtually everyone who sees these figures will react negatively and lament the poor state of our churches, our lack of evangelistic fervor, and our increasingly irrelevant programs. Indeed, we all should.
"However, the stark reality of these numbers should cause each of us to look inwardly," he said. "Am I sharing the Gospel as I should? Am I developing relationships with family, friends, coworkers and others with whom I can gain an opportunity to share the good news? Am I burdened for the lost and praying for their salvation?"
Giving & missions expenditures
Giving among Southern Baptists was down slightly in 2016. Undesignated church receipts increased 0.67 percent to $9.2 billion. However, total church receipts reported through the ACP decreased 0.73 percent to 11.5 billion.
Total missions expenditures also decreased 1.3 percent to $1.19 billion.
Giving through Southern Baptists' Cooperative Program (CP) mission initiative is not broken out in the ACP annual report. Instead, CP totals are reported by the SBC Executive Committee, which facilitates the mission gifts to the SBC's national and international missions and ministries.
With the release of the total number of churches through the ACP report, the Executive Committee has calculated the average CP percentage from the convention's cooperating churches for 2015–2016 as 5.16 percent, down 0.02 percent from last year's 5.18 percent, according to Page. The states reported receiving a total of $475,212,293 in CP gifts in 2015–2016, of which $190,468,781, or 40.08 percent, was forwarded to the Executive Committee for distribution through the SBC Cooperative Program allocation budget.
The ACP is an annual statistical report churches voluntarily provide to their local Baptist associations and/or their state conventions. National totals are compiled and released after all cooperating state conventions have reported.
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Exec. Committee marks 100 years 'behind the scenes'
by David Roach
Date: June 08, 2017 - Thursday
NASHVILLE (BP) -- The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee's 100th anniversary will be marked by a "low-key" celebration, says EC President Frank S. Page, because by design the committee has never been characterized by publicity and attention.
Unbeknownst to many Southern Baptists, Page told Baptist Press, the EC has been a "quiet, behind-the-scenes, steady hand that has helped guide and direct [the SBC] over the years."
From shepherding the fledgling Cooperative Program and averting a convention-wide financial crisis in the early 20th century to spurring the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message and steadying the convention following the Conservative Resurgence, the EC has influenced the SBC at numerous key junctures.
The early years
For its first seven decades of existence, the SBC carried out its work between annual meetings through "numerous ad hoc committees," according to Albert McClellan's book "The Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention." But that organizational structure "simply could not carry the increased [work] load in the twentieth century." In 1910, for instance, the convention appointed 33 separate committees, and many Southern Baptists realized the convention needed a more business-like structure.
In 1916, a messenger from Texas moved that the convention establish an Executive Board to "direct all the work and enterprises fostered by this convention." Eventually, his motion led to a 1917 proposal adopted by the convention May 18 that the SBC maintain separate boards for its entities yet establish an Executive Committee with limited authority to help coordinate the convention's work.
Begun with seven members, the EC was charged, among other duties, "to act for the convention during the interim ... on all matters not otherwise provided for" and to advise convention boards "only on request."
A decade later, the convention enlarged the EC and expanded its duties to include recommending an operating budget for the SBC each year and an annual allocation of Cooperative Program funds to entities. The expanded EC was granted "full authority to study the affairs of the agencies of the Convention, and to make suggestions," but it still lacked authority over any SBC entity.
As the EC administered the Cooperative Program, established in 1925, among its greatest challenges was to help the convention pay off some $6 million in debt -- a sum equivalent to about $84 million in 2017 according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
So great were the pressures of this debt-laden period, McClellan wrote, that EC executive secretary Austin Crouch carried a resignation letter to each SBC annual meeting in case messengers' frustration boiled over. "Happily," McClellan noted, Crouch "never had to use" the letter and the SBC was debt-free by 1943, annual CP receipts having increased by 234 percent during the previous decade.
New challenges
Financial stability in the convention allowed the EC to address new challenges in the 1940s-1950s.
Under executive secretary Duke McCall -- who also served as president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary -- the EC provided counsel in the convention's establishment of the Glorieta Conference Center in New Mexico and in the convention's partnership with two new seminaries -- Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary (now Gateway Seminary).
In a lighter matter during McCall's 1946-51 tenure at the EC, the committee's staff eliminated the hyphen from "Co-Operative Program" because director of publicity C.E. Bryant "tired of using two extra finger strokes" on his typewriter to type the hyphen and capitalize the subsequent "o," according to McCall's oral history published in 2001.
Doctrinal and social issues were among EC priorities in the 1960s under the leadership of executive secretary Porter Routh, who served from 1951-79.
In 1962, amid controversy over Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary professor Ralph Elliott's claim the book of Genesis was not "literally true," an EC recommendation led to formation of a committee that drafted the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message.
Following the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, the EC recommended and the convention adopted the then-controversial "Statement Concerning the Crisis in Our Nation" -- a document that "affirmed God's love for all men of all continents and colors, of all religions and races."
A key initiative of the 1970s was Bold Mission Thrust, an EC-proposed campaign adopted by the SBC in 1978 "to enable every person in the world to have the opportunity to hear and to respond to the gospel of Christ by the year 2000."
'Epicenter' of controversy
The SBC's Conservative Resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s found the EC "at the epicenter of" conflict, said David Hankins, an EC member from 1986-94 and chairman in 1991-92. He served as a vice president on the EC staff from 1995-2004 before assuming his current role as executive director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention.
When the group attempting to turn the SBC in a more theologically conservative direction achieved a majority on the EC around 1990, two of their most significant actions, Hankins told BP, were dismissing allegedly biased BP leaders Al Shackleford and Dan Martin in 1990 and proposing an amendment to the SBC Constitution in 1992 which declared churches that condone homosexuality to be "not in friendly cooperation" with the convention.
EC meetings in the 1980s and early 1990s were "very political," Hankins said. "It was a very charged atmosphere. In those days ... the gallery was packed out" and guests "would holler from the grandstands about the proceedings."
David Maddox, who chaired the EC from 1985-87, told BP that President Harold Bennett was a steadying force during that era.
Bennett, who led the EC from 1979-92, "was so able" as an administrator, said Maddox, a California real estate developer. "Harold was a very, very strong [president] and served both sides" of the SBC conflict.
A stabilizing force
Following the Conservative Resurgence, the EC helped shepherd the SBC through what former EC President Morris Chapman called "the stabilization of the convention."
Part of that stabilization was adoption by the convention in 1995 of the Covenant for a New Century, a plan that streamlined the number of SBC entities from 19 to 12 and whose implementation was overseen by the EC.
Another part of the EC's post-Resurgence work, Chapman told BP, was reemphasis of the Cooperative Program.
"During my 18 years as president of the Executive Committee," Chapman said, "I increasingly became convicted that the Cooperative Program had to be the most brilliant means of financial support ever known to any denomination. Everywhere Southern Baptists leaders fellowship with non-Southern Baptist leaders, one of their first questions is, 'Will you tell us about the Cooperative Program and why it has been such a success?'"
Since Chapman's retirement in 2010, Page has led the EC to spearhead "a renewal of trust in cooperation" within the SBC, the current EC president said. That renewal has included attempts to mediate convention conflicts, a call for churches to increase their giving through CP by 1 percent of undesignated receipts and emphasis on involvement of various ethnic groups in SBC life.
Page has hired the first African American EC vice president and appointed advisory councils to make recommendations to him regarding the convention involvement of African Americans, Hispanics Asian Americans and other ethnicities.
Serving others
Despite its achievements, the EC's work remains unknown to many Southern Baptists.
Since at least the 1950s, EC employees have reported being introduced at speaking engagements as staff members of the Baptist Sunday School Board and later LifeWay Christian Resources -- the entity that housed the EC until 1963 and that has been located nearby ever since.
"After a while I just quit correcting them," Hankins said, "because how do you explain" to someone uninitiated in the nuances of SBC polity "what the Executive Committee is?"
Chapman believes the EC remains a low-profile aspect of SBC life "because its primary job is to do what it does for the welfare of the convention entities and the churches," not to promote itself.
The lack of notoriety is fine with Page, he said, because his daily prayer is that the EC would facilitate and highlight the work of other entities to make disciples of every nation on earth. That's why he plans to keep the 100th anniversary celebration discrete, with a modest reception in September.
"When the other entities succeed," Page said, "we've hit a homerun."
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Bible Study: June 11, 2017
by staff/LifeWay Christian Resources
Date: June 08, 2017 - Thursday
NASHVILLE (BP) -- This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, LifeWay publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups.
This week's Bible study is adapted from the Bible Studies For Life curriculum.
Bible Passage: 1 Samuel 18:1-4
Discussion Question: What have you enjoyed most about your friendships over the years?
Food for Thought:
These days, when you ask, “How many friends do you have?” people often start calculating the number of Facebook friends, Twitter or Instagram followers, or contacts in their phones. In our fast-food, microwave, disposable world, it’s all too easy to pass through life with lots of acquaintances and scores of connections, but few, if any close friends. Ironically, many people feel lonely and isolated, even while being surrounded by masses of people.
A better question to ask is: How many close, personal friendships do you have?
In this second session of the study “Real Relationships,” we will study an incredibly deep friendship in the Book of 1 Samuel. As we look at the relationship between Jonathan and David, we will discover how we can develop true friendships that last.
Bible Studies for Life
Bible Studies for Life is a family of resources that addresses key issues in the lives of adults, students and kids. Visit www.biblestudiesforlife.com and use it to help you "Connect the Unconnected, Strengthen Families, and Disciple People With Wisdom." Free session downloads are available, plus PDFs and videos that accompany this Bible study resource.
Other ongoing Bible study options for all ages offered by LifeWay can be found at LifeWay.com/SundaySchool.
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Moore: Sanders' remarks ignorant of Constitution
by Tom Strode
Date: June 08, 2017 - Thursday
WASHINGTON (BP) -- Southern Baptist religious freedom advocate Russell Moore has decried Sen. Bernie Sanders' stated opposition to a White House nominee based on the candidate's adherence to foundational Christian teaching.
Sanders -- an independent from Vermont and 2016 candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination -- said Wednesday (June 7) he will oppose Russell Vought's nomination as deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. In announcing his opposition, Sanders cited a 2016 blog post by Vought in which he said Muslims "stand condemned" because they have rejected Jesus.
Vought "is not someone who is what this country is supposed to be about," Sanders said, according to the Associated Press. The nominee's post was "hateful" and "Islamaphobic," and he should not be confirmed, the senator said.
Moore described Sanders' comments as "breathtakingly audacious and shockingly ignorant -- both of the Constitution and of basic Christian doctrine."
e should expect far more from an elected official who has taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution." -- Russell Moore]"Even if one were to excuse Senator Sanders for not realizing that all Christians of every age have insisted that faith in Jesus Christ is the only pathway to salvation, it is inconceivable that Senator Sanders would cite religious beliefs as disqualifying an individual for public office in defiance of the United States Constitution. No religious test shall ever be required of those seeking public office," said Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
"While no one expects Senator Sanders to be a theologian, we should expect far more from an elected official who has taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution," he told Baptist Press in a written statement.
In his comments, Moore referred to Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, which includes: "No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
Sanders took exception to comments made in a January 2016 blog post in which Vought defended his alma mater, Wheaton College, after the Christian school began termination proceedings against a professor who said Christians and Muslims worship the same God.
In the post at The Resurgent website, Vought wrote, "Muslims do not simply have a deficient theology. They do not know God because they have rejected Jesus Christ his Son, and they stand condemned."
Sanders called Vought's post "indefensible."
"It is hateful. It is Islamaphobic," Sanders said at Vought's June 7 hearing before the Senate Budget Committee. "And it is an insult to over a billion Muslims throughout the world."
In the hearing, Vought said, "I'm a Christian, and I believe in a Christian set of principles," according to AP. Vought said his post was intended to defend the actions of Wheaton College and were not anti-Islamic.
"I specifically wrote it with the intention of conveying my viewpoint in a respectful manner that avoided inflammatory rhetoric," Vought said in a written response to the committee, AP reported.
Vought previously served as executive director of the Republican Study Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives and vice president of Heritage Action for America.Sanders is the lead Democrat on the Budget Committee.
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Sexual risk avoidance advocate named to HHS post
by Diana Chandler
Date: June 08, 2017 - Thursday
WASHINGTON (BP) -- A leading advocate of sexual risk avoidance -- a holistic health approach encouraging sexual abstinence until marriage -- has been named to a top post in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Valerie Huber, co-founder and president of the Ascend advocacy and education group, will join HHS under the leadership of Secretary Tom Price, Ascend announced today (June 8).
Huber's appointment as chief of staff to the assistant secretary for health at HHS was first reported June 6 by The Hill, based on an internal email it obtained that HHS acting assistant secretary for health Don Wright wrote to his staff. Neither HHS nor President Donald Trump has officially announced Huber's appointment in statements to the media.
Huber's "wealth of professional experience in the field of public policy will serve her well in this position," Wright said in the email, according to The Hill.
In her new post, Huber "will work to make optimal health possible for all Americans," Ascend, formerly known as the National Abstinence Education Association, said in its news release.
Huber promotes sexual risk avoidance as an educational platform that extends beyond an abstinence-only model.
"Sexual risk avoidance is actually a term taken from public health," she said in a 2016 Focus on the Family interview. "I bristle at the terminology 'abstinence-only' because our programs are so holistic. They contextualize a whole battery of different topics that surround a young person's decision whether to have sex or not. Rather than someone telling a young person, 'Do this, don't do that,' it's casting a vision for a young person's future."
Huber opposes the current Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TTP) program implemented in 2010 that Trump has announced plans to discontinue. In an April editorial in The Hill, she described TTP as a failure that has promoted sex more than health.
"Now, nearly one billion dollars later, troubling revelations have surfaced that show that most youth did not improve their health as a result of the TPP program -- and too many were hurt," Huber wrote in the guest editorial. "Multiple studies, mostly from federal sources, paint a stark picture of the results of this one-billion-dollar experiment."
Huber cited HHS findings that more than 80 percent of teens in TTP "fared either worse or no better than their peers who were not a part of the program." Rather, TTP harmed students, she said. "Some teens who were taught the TPP program were more likely to get pregnant, more likely to have sex, and more likely to have oral sex."
Huber has praised Trump's 2018 budget proposal that would increase abstinence education funding by 50 percent.
"We urge Congress to take the president's recommendations and do all they can to give even more youth the opportunity to focus on their futures, rather than on any of the possible consequences of teen sex," Huber said.
Read BP's earlier story here.
In today's press release, Ascend named Mary Anne Mosack as its executive director replacing Huber. Mosack has served as Ascend's national director of state initiatives and a lead trainer in sexual risk avoidance.
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House OKs aid for ISIS survivors
by Tom Strode
Date: June 08, 2017 - Thursday
WASHINGTON (BP) -- The U.S. House of Representatives has approved legislation to assist Christians and other survivors of the genocide committed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and to bring the perpetrators to justice.
In a June 6 voice vote, the House passed without opposition the Iraq and Syria Genocide Emergency Relief and Accountability Act, H.R. 390. The bill, which still requires Senate approval before going to President Trump, would provide humanitarian aid to Christians, Yazidis, Shia Muslims and other religious and ethnic minorities in the two Middle East countries. It also would promote criminal investigations and prosecutions of the terrorists responsible for genocidal acts and crimes against humanity.
The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), which is working for the proposal's enactment, applauded the House action.
"When it comes to the murderous slaughter of the innocent throughout the Middle East, we cannot show moral indifference," ERLC President Russell Moore told Baptist Press in written comments. "Some of the areas in which the Christian faith was born are now killing fields. ... History has shown us that when the United States does not act, religious freedom becomes imperiled, so I hope the Senate will act swiftly to expedite this bill in its chamber."
Non-profit organizations have provided humanitarian assistance to Iraqis and Syrians displaced and otherwise victimized by the Islamic State (ISIS), but the United States government has yet to do so, said Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., chief sponsor of the measure.
In March 2016, then-Secretary of State John Kerry designated the terrorist campaign by ISIS as genocide. No ISIS member has been tried for genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes since then, religious freedom advocates said in March.
Despite the genocide designation, "the existential threat to Christians and Yazidis and other minorities continues to this day," Smith said.
"President Trump and Vice President Pence have strongly, publicly committed the Administration to providing relief to Christians, Yazidis and other genocide survivors, and ensuring perpetrators are brought to justice," Smith said in a written statement. "H.R. 390 will help ensure that officials implement these commitments and is a blueprint for implementation."
Rep. Anna Eshoo of California, lead Democratic sponsor of the bill, said in written remarks, "Tens of thousands of religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria continue to face persecution at the hands of ISIS and they need our help now."
Among its provisions, the House-approved bill directs the administration to:
-- Identify persecution threats and early warnings of genocide and crimes against humanity directed toward individuals in Iraq and Syria and religious and ethnic minorities at risk of forced migration;
-- Provide funding to faith-based and other organizations for the humanitarian needs of genocide survivors;
-- Urge other governments to prosecute perpetrators of "genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes."
ISIS' terror campaign in the Middle East has included execution, rape and sexual enslavement. Other ISIS atrocities cited by religious liberty advocates include torture, mass graves, assassination of religious leaders and the destruction of churches, monasteries and cemeteries.
Violence by Islamic extremists since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 has resulted in an exodus from the country by many Christians and other religious adherents. The number of professing Christians in that country has declined by death and displacement from as much as 1.4 million to fewer than 300,000, according to estimates.